Is Zumba a legitimate workout?

Zumba is one of the most popular group exercise classes on fitness studio schedules.

Photograph by: Dario Ayala
, The Gazette

There’s no doubt that Zumba has arrived. Over a decade after its debut in 2001, Zumba bills itself as the largest branded fitness program in the world, with more than 14 million weekly participants in more than 140,000 locations across more than 150 countries.

This popular group exercise class follows the formula made popular during the dance aerobics craze of the 1980s — combining high-energy choreography with catchy music all in the name of fitness. Whether it’s the music, the Latin-inspired dance moves or the party atmosphere that permeates the class, Zumba is one of the most popular group exercise classes on fitness studio schedules.

But while there’s no denying that it hits the mark in terms of fun, is there enough of a workout in there to call it fitness? Or are millions of Zumba fanatics deluding themselves into thinking that fitness can indeed be fun?

The American Council on Exercise wondered the same thing, so it asked its workout watchdog, John Porcari from the department of exercise science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to evaluate just how much of a workout Zumba lovers get in an average 60-minute class.

Porcari and his research team collected fitness measurements from 19 women before sending them out to a variety of Zumba classes all taught by the same instructor. All were familiar with Zumba and were wearing a heart rate monitor designed to quantify the heart’s response to the workout.

The average heart rate among the women was 154 beats per minute, which is approximately 80 per cent of the average maximum heart rate of the college-age group. This more than qualifies Zumba as an effective workout.

“If we look at the heart-rate monitor strips from the Zumba session, they kind of look like interval workouts, going back and forth between high intensity and low intensity,” says lead researcher Mary Luettgen.

“Because of that, with Zumba you burn a lot of extra calories compared to a steady-state exercise like jogging.”

As for the average calorie burn, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse team estimates Zumba participants burn 369 calories a class.

“The surprising thing is that it doesn’t matter what fitness level you’re at — our research shows that with Zumba everyone is working out at the zone that’s recommended for improving cardio health,” Luettgen says.

“Both fit people and less-fit people are going to get an equally good workout.”

Laura Barreto has been a Zumba instructor since 2007. Co-owner with her sister, Lina, of Bamboofit, a Montreal fitness studio that teaches Zumba classes exclusively, Laura says that keeping the intensity high requires just the right mix of dance and aerobic moves.

Classes with complicated choreography or too much dance may fail to keep the heart rate elevated high enough or long enough to provide an exercise effect.

Denina Kapetanovic agrees. A runner who also takes spinning classes regularly, Kapetanovic admits to having a short attention span when it comes to group exercise classes.

“I go on these kicks,” she said. “I did Tae Bo and step aerobics, and now it’s Zumba.”

She first tried Zumba a few years ago, but had trouble following the complicated footwork and failed to get a good workout. But there was something about the class that appealed to her, so she bought Zumba for the Xbox and learned the steps at home.

Only when she felt proficient enough did she attempt a Zumba class that wasn’t taught by an avatar.

So while Zumba may have the potential to offer a good workout, with so many instructors out there teaching their own style, there’s no guarantee that every Zumba class will achieve the same results as those found by the research team from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

But with the right instructor, not only will Zumba lead to improved fitness, it also has the potential to keep enthusiasm for exercise from waning.

“I’ve been going to Zumba regularly for almost two years now and it really lives up to its rep,” said Kapetanovic. “I don’t feel like I’m working out, and I always go with a smile on my face.”

That said, Zumba classes are almost 100 per cent female, which suggests men are immune to its reputation as a fun, effective workout. But for Zumba fans everywhere, validation of their favourite workout by a team of exercise scientists is great news.

“Bottom line, Zumba fitness is an effective interval-style, full-body workout with built-in variety because every class and every instructor is slightly different,” the researchers said. “Equally important is the notion that Zumba classes are entertaining, which means exercisers are busy burning calories and getting fit while enjoying the fun of Latin dancing.”

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